The Adventures of Locke and Keye Pt2
by Bennysbatch
Summary: It's Jane's birthday and she arrives at work to find something she wasn't quite expecting.


_Eyes._

They assaulted my dreams; saturated and filled them; Piercing green eyes around every corner and in every shadow, hauntingly dreamy yet untraceable.

"Jane!" The air explodes with the sound of my name. My eyes shoot open, but I lay motionless for a moment. The distinct aroma of bacon wafts through my open doorway and I can tell David has made breakfast. He is letting me know that he has and though he knows I don't like to eat breakfast, he hopes one day I'll give in. I'm sure that won't likely happen. Even though today is my birthday, I've requested no special treatment. This makes the sight that my eyes meet when I walk into the kitchen a complete surprise.

Barrow is holding a large cupcake upward toward me, with one lighted candle wavering over the magenta frosting as his excited little hands move. I hold until they've finished their little song and blow out that one candle before kissing my little boy atop his head. When I do this, he comes rushing to me for a hug. Unfortunately, his cupcake joins the hug and I end up with a little, pink smear on my jumper. I dab it, but I have no time to change. I'll have to deal with it. It probably won't even be recognizable.

Arriving at work on time is a rarity for me, but today I make it through the front doors just as the clock strikes six. My lab coat and body await me down in the lab and I waste no time in getting to them. There is only one problem: The door to the morgue is mysteriously locked and when I peer through the glass window on the big metal door I see someone rifling through my paperwork and – I shudder – inspecting the cadaver with their hands. I can't stand the thought of someone tampering with or destroying evidence, so I start a ruckus. I bang heavily on the thick door, profane language slipping easily from my lips. Apparently I have been acknowledged, because the door is no longer holding my weight and I'm caught off guard.

And object in motion stays in motion, so I fall…straight into a pair of arms. I look up to see that this perpetrator is not a stranger.

"Locke," I say, my calm tone surprising even me. I remove myself from his steadying arms and try to move past him, but he does not budge.

"Mrs. Keye." He replied in his deep voice. I sigh, once more attempting to squeeze into my room. He is not wide, but rather small in frame, so that if he were not facing me directly, I could slip through. Of course, though he makes it more difficult by leaning against the door frame.

"Ms.," I correct him, which puzzles him and seemingly almost annoys him. He crosses his arms and gives me a good look-over, which makes me feel strange. I'm seriously surprised by what he says next.

"Are you not married? The father of your child?" He inquires a bit too much and I dismiss his questions. I do not wish to talk about my personal life with this dark-haired and well-informed stranger. I've never told him about my son, nor that I am married. Is he some sort of undercover psychologist seeing if I can cope with family life and work?

"Can we return our attention to more important matters, please," I hope, making sure my voice rings with a stern tone. This is my lab and I say what goes in it. "Like why you had your hands all over my body." He smirked, licking his pink lips.

"You would have fallen," He replies in his smug tone. I'm livid, but then I get it. He must be enjoying my angers, spurring me on to get a reaction. He knows exactly what I'm talking about.

I point in the general direction of the corpse then reply plainly, "The cadaver, Mr. Howe. Can I enter the morgue please?" I am calm, collected and not letting him get the best of me. A surprised look graces his facial features and he moves out of the doorway and into the room.

"By all means," He says, as if he was completely oblivious to the fact that he was blocking me that whole time. I follow him in and grab my lab coat. As I slide it on, he is standing over the body again, looking through a magnifying glass at it. I roll my eyes and wash my hands before slapping a new pair of latex gloves on my hands.

"So, are you going to tell me how exactly you got into the morgue…and also why?" I only ask because he has only told me that he's a detective, but not a real one; a consulting detective. It doesn't mean much to me, since I work with the cops, but I've come to learn how brilliant Locke is in just my short forty-eight hours knowing him. He doesn't answer and I don't ask again, quickly getting to work. If Captain Gregoire says he's okay, then I trust his judgement.

_"Happy Birthday."_

Hours later, I'm still immersed in the corpse, yet nearly finished, when Locke says something. I know in my head he's been going on this whole time, but only now have I heard him.

"What was that?" I don't ask because I really want to know, but because my tongue will fall asleep if I remain silent anymore. "Nothing, I was determining aloud when you'd begin to speak again. Sooner than I expected."

"Well…" I turn, gloved hands drenched with the young girl's blood, but he's moving past me toward the body.

"Good. You're finished." He says before I can even announce that I'm done with the autopsy. He goes at it again with the magnifying glass and I watch, waiting for something to happen.

"What is it you aim to find?" I can't help but ask, since he's so adamant that he has to look at the body. It's as if I can't do my job.

"Where is the necklace?"He asks, spinning to face me. He looks about as excited as ever. I'm confused at his question.

"Necklace?" I reply, giving him a quizzical look. He motions for me to step to him, which I do, and he points at the victim's neck. A line is there, a line I assumed was a pre-death laceration. Of course I see it now. The 'v' that meets just at the sternum.

"There wasn't a necklace in the report and I didn't find one on the body." He smiles.

"Then who's got it?" He asks, but I have a feeling from his sort of scary-happy tone of voice he already knows the answer to his question.


End file.
